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Happy Independence Day! America-tini!

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It’s been a while since I posted a cocktail and since there’s no time like the present, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you my latest creation:  The America-tini!

To make this summery drink, scoop out the flesh of a small seedless watermelon and gently pulse it in a food processor of blender.  Place the pulp and juice in the freezer for a few hours until frozen, then remove it and with a fork, break it up into a slush.

For each drink add 1/2 cup of the slushy watermelon mixture to a cocktail shaker along with:

1 1/2 ounce good vodka, like Grey Goose
1 ounce simple syrup (or less if you prefer it less sweet)
1/2 ounce creme de cassis (currant liqueur) This is optional, but very tasty
1 ounce lime juice
1 tablespoon of frozen blueberries

The frozen watermelon and frozen blueberries keep it nice and cold so there’s no need to add additional ice unless you prefer it.

Give it a few quick shakes and pour into a glass that has been rimmed with sugar.  Enjoy your 4th of July Celebration!

Grill-fried Chicken Wings with Tomato Salad

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I bet you’re wondering what “grill-fried” chicken wings are.  Well, it was an experiment that went very right, and although I don’t normally blog my weekday meals, this one was particularly pleasing and I thought I’d share it with you.  The idea for these wings came from a pizza place that was in business here for a very short time, called Anthony’s Wood Fired Pizza. It was one of our favorite pizza places and we would go there more often for their wings than for the pizza.  The wings were simply well-seasoned with lots of garlic and topped with a mound of caramelized onions.  They weren’t bathed in sauce and there wasn’t any dipping sauce.  They were perfect just as they were.  The restaurant closed down a few years ago, but I still make these garlicky chicken wings topped with caramelized onions to this day.  I usually make the wings in a 425 degree convection oven, which makes them crispy and golden, but with this continuing heat wave, you couldn’t pay me to turn my oven on that high!  Instead I decided to cook the wings on the grill.  The experimental part was that I tossed them in a little cornstarch before grilling which gave them a crispy crunch like friend chicken!  Fried chicken without deep frying!  They were wonderful served alongside a tomato salad with homemade croutons.

It is so important to season the chicken well before grilling.  I made a spice mix with the following herbs and spices:

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried herbs du provence
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Wash the chicken wings and pat them completely dry with a paper towel.  Drizzle the wings with olive oil and toss to coat.  Generously season the wings with the spice mixture.  Don’t be shy, really make sure every bit of the chicken is covered.  I added the zest and the juice from 1/2 lemon and allowed the chicken to marinate in the spices for about 30 minutes.  Preheat the grill to 400 degrees. Put one tablespoon of corn starch in a paper or plastic bag.  Drop the chicken wings in the bag and shake until the wings are lightly coated in the corn starch.  After the grill reaches 400 degrees, oil the grates with vegetable oil and place the wings on the grill.  Turn the wings regularly to keep them from burning and cook for approximately 25 minutes until they are golden brown and cooked through.

To make the caramelized onions, simply slice a sweet onion and add to a pan with two tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the onions begin to soften.  Add ground black pepper and a pinch of salt and continue cooking over medium-low heat for approximately 45 minutes.  I like to add a few splashes of Chipotle Tabasco sauce to the onions when they are nice and brown and completely caramelized.  Serve with the chicken wings!

Our tomato season was fairly short-lived.  Because it’s so hot, the tomatoes currently on the vines aren’t ripening and are instead just sizzling in the sun.  I’ve picked quite a few and hopefully they will ripen in the windowsill, but I think that the majority of our tomato season is over for now.  We can hope to get a second season in September.  The green zebra tomatoes are still doing fairly well, so I used those in this tomato salad along with store-bought campari and yellow cherry tomatoes.

I kept the salad fairly simple, to allow the flavors of the tomatoes shine through.  I also made croutons from some leftover homemade bread that I tossed in a mixture of dijon mustard, vermouth and butter.  The croutons are a revelation!  I’ve made them before and used them in tomato soup–so delicious!

This salad is flexible–just use whatever tomatoes you prefer.  As you can see, I used 3 green zebras, 4 campari tomatoes, and a handful of yellow tomatoes.

Assorted tomatoes of your choice, cut into wedges
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
handful of basil, sliced thin (chiffonade)

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons good quality olive oil
1 teaspoon honey or agave syrup
freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the ingredients for the vinaigrette and allow it to sit for a few minutes.  Before pouring over the tomato salad, be sure to whisk it once more to emulsify it.

These croutons are amazing!  I adapted this recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen:

1 1/2 cups cubed stale bread.  I used some leftover homemade bread that I saved and froze for this purpose
1 heaping tablespoon of whole grain dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet cream butter
2 tablespoons white wine or vermouth (I used the vermouth)
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the mustard, vermouth, salt and pepper and whisk together.

Toss the bread cubes in this sauce and coat evenly.  Place on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees and toast for about 5 to 10 minutes.  I made these croutons on the grill.  I simply placed the baking sheet on the grill alongside the chicken wings on 400 degrees.  Toss them frequently and watch them closely so that they don’t burn.

Add the finished, warm croutons to the tomato salad just before serving and mix gently to coat them in the tomato vinaigrette.  Serve immediately.

Chilled Corn and Avocado Soup with Cilantro Oil

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Ahh, Summer.  That wonderful season that brings us delicious, sweet corn, which grilled in their husks are so tender and sweet that they don’t even need seasoning!

I thought of making a cold soup because, let’s face it, we in Southern Nevada apparently live on the surface of the sun.  Temperatures soared to 116 degrees this weekend and anything cool and refreshing was a most welcome thing.  I adapted this recipe found on Epicurious and I used a lot more corn and I also did not strain the soup.  I think that step is a purely personal issue.  I enjoy texture in soup and I find that it makes for a more substantial dish–a soup that “eats like a meal”.  But if you prefer a smoother, creamy soup, straining it would give you that result.  This soup has a refreshing Southwestern flavor with a hint of heat and a little splash of lime and would make a great first course for a summery dinner!

For the soup:

4 ears of grilled fresh sweet corn
1 serrano pepper, chopped coarsely with seeds intact
2 cloves garlic, smashed
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper
1 large chopped sweet onion (you will cook 1 cup in the soup and reserve the rest for the puree)
2 ripe avocados
1 lime, juiced

For the cilantro oil:

1 handful cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
squeeze fresh lime juice

To grill the corn, peel the husks back, but don’t remove them.  Clean away the cornsilk and replace the husks.  Fill a pot with cool water and one tablespoon of salt and allow the corn to soak for about 10 minutes.

Place the corn on the grill over medium, direct heat.  Flip once every 5-7 minutes until the corn is tender and just beginning to char, about 25 minutes total.

When the corn is cool enough to handle, slice the kernels from the cob and cut the cobs in half. Add the kernels, cobs, serrano pepper, 1 cup of the chopped onions and salt and pepper to a large saucepan or pot.  Add the vegetable broth and water and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the broth has reduced.

After the broth reduced, I then placed the soup in the refrigerator to cool completely.  After the soup cools, remove the corn cobs and puree the kernels and broth in a food processor.  I did this step in two batches so as not to overload the food processor.  During one batch, add one whole avocado and the remainder of the onion and puree until very smooth.  If you prefer to strain the soup through a mesh sieve and remove the solids, you can, but I left the soup intact.  Mix both batches of the soup together in a bowl or pot and add the juice of one lime, to taste.

For the cilantro oil, simply puree the cilantro, oil, salt and the squeeze of lime juice in a blender or food processor. Set aside.

Cube the remaining avocado and squeeze lime juice over it to keep it from browning.

Serve the soup with avocado and the cilantro oil drizzled over the top.  As you can see from the photo, I served it topped with seared scallops.  Grilled shrimp would be equally fantastic!

Summer Vegetable Tian

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This simple dish is a wonderful way to take advantage of peak season summer vegetables.  I’m happy to say that I picked the eggplants, tomatoes and zucchini from our little garden!  Yes, you heard that right–I actually grew two more zucchinis! Huzzah!  The most difficult part of this dish is the assembly and that’s only if you’re slightly impatient, like me, and get tired of layering seemingly endless slices of vegetables, but the finished product is so worth the extra time.
For this dish I used:
1 large zucchini, sliced 
4 medium sized green tomatoes, sliced (Roma tomatoes would be great for this dish)
3 small eggplants, sliced–mine were rather small and I had two Japanese eggplants and one Black Beauty
1/2 red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs thyme, stems removed, lightly chopped
handful of fresh basil, stems removed, chopped
olive oil
splash of white wine
softened butter
First, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the top of the gratin or casserole dish you plan to use.  Butter the dish and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Sauté the onions and the garlic in a little olive oil until they soften, about two to three minutes. Add a little salt and pepper to the mixture.  Spread the onions and garlic along the bottom of the buttered gratin dish.  Starting in the center of the dish,  alternate the vegetables on top of the onion and garlic mixture.  Between each layer, sprinkle the thyme, basil, salt and pepper.  When you are done arranging the vegetables, drizzle a little olive oil and a splash of white wine over the top.  Butter the piece of parchment and lay it butter side down on top of the vegetables. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are cooked through.  Allow the dish to rest for a few minutes before eating.  

Enjoy!

My First "Artisan" Bread! Plus, Strawberry-Basil Jam

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This week, I received some new “toys” in the mail.  One, is the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and the other: two large plastic tubs to start bread in.  Embarking on a bread-baking expedition is a highly impractical thing to do in the heat of summer, since I can hardly bear to turn on the oven, but so far that hasn’t thwarted me from trying!

Let me be frank and tell you that bread baking is not something I’m an expert in.  I am a total novice. Fresh-baked bread is just not something I grew up with. My mother has somewhat of an odd dough-phobia and the closest thing we ever had to fresh bread growing up was Bisquick Drop Biscuits!  So, I’m starting on this path quite late in life and it’s already proving to be a bit of an obsession!  This book basically shows you how to make a large batch of no-knead dough (hmm, this might be right up my mother’s alley) that can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.  When you are ready to bake the bread, you simply scoop out a portion, allow it to rest for a period of time and then bake it for thirty minutes.  It’s practically fool-proof!  The “boule” pictured above is the “master recipe”, which I’ll share with you!  Take a look at the author’s website, artisanbreadinfive.com, as they have a lot of different recipes and tips there also.

What you’ll need:

A large container with a lid for storage.  I used this Cambro Container.
3 cups lukewarm water*
1 1/2 tablespoon active yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
cornmeal
pizza peel
baking stone

*To make lukewarm water, I used one cup of very hot water to two cups of cool water.  Check with an instant-read thermometer and make sure the temperature is right around 100 degrees.

Mix the water, yeast and salt in the container, then mix in the flour.  It’s easiest to use wet hands to mix, but do not knead the flour, just make sure it’s evenly moist and that there are no dry lumps.   Place the lid on the container, but do not seal it.  Now, allow the mixture to rise on the counter for two hours.  In that period of time, the dough will double in size.  You can bake a batch at this point, but the dough is easier to work with after refrigeration.  After the dough has risen, place the container in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 3 hours.  This is what my dough looked like yesterday, after having baked two loaves from it.

When you are ready to bake, pull out a hunk about the size of a grapefruit and cut it off with a serrated knife.  It will look like this.

While holding it in your hand, sprinkle it with flour.

Now, here comes the fun part.  To shape this oddly-shaped hunk of dough into a ball, you quickly pull each side down toward the palm of your hand and tuck it under.  This process should take about thirty seconds and you don’t want to handle it much more than that.  Place the ball of dough onto a pizza peel that has been sprinkled with corn meal and allow it to rest.  The book instructs to rest it for 40 minutes; however, I have found that a longer rest period makes for a lighter texture, so I rested this loaf for an hour and a half while I went to an appointment.

About 20 minutes before you’re ready to bake, place a pizza stone on the middle rack of your oven and preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Also, place an empty broiler pan on the bottom rack of the oven.  When the dough has finished resting, sprinkle it with a little more flour and using a sharp, serrated knife, slash the dough.  I used an “X” slash on this loaf.

Now, slide the dough onto the preheated baking stone using a forward jerking motion with your wrist.  Immediately pour one cup of water into the broiler pan and shut the oven door, trapping the steam inside.  This will create that crunchy crust.

After baking for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.  The hardest part is allowing the loaf to completely cool before cutting into it!

The waiting is the hardest part!
Yummy!

This bread truly takes only 5 minutes of hands-on preparation time! Thursday morning I made a loaf and brought it to work.  I woke up at my normal time, shaped the loaf and let it rest as I went on my morning walk.  I got back home, preheated the oven (because for some reason, my “delay cook” setting didn’t work) and had a baked loaf in the time it took to get showered and dressed!  Genius!

I also made a batch of strawberry-basil jam to go with the delicious bread!  This was my first time making jam and what’s funny about doing things on a whim is that if you don’t know that something is supposed to be hard, it probably won’t be!  I read an article in the New York Times after I had made the jam that strawberry jam can be difficult to gel.  Don’t believe it!  It was incredibly easy!  I thought about adding the basil at the last minute, as I was looking out the window at this pot of lovelies:

It turned out to be a fortuitous combination–the basil balanced the sweetness of the strawberries so nicely.

I used:

2 16-ounce packages of strawberries
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh chopped basil (optional)

Hull and quarter the strawberries and place in a saucepan with the lemon juice and the sugar.  Cook on medium high heat until it begins to boil, then add the basil.  When it boils, turn the heat down just a little and using a thermometer–either an instant-read thermometer or a digital thermometer, cook until the temperature reaches 220 degrees.  The temperature will hover around 210 degrees for what seems like forever, but then it will suddenly surpass that point, so keep an eye on it.  Now, this is a neat little trick: while the mixture is cooking, place a saucer in the freezer.  After your mixture reaches 220 degrees, pour a small amount onto the cold saucer.  After two minutes, look at the little dollop.  If it’s runny, then it needs to cook a little more, if it is firm, then you’re done!

Pour the jam into sterilized mason jars and either process them to make them shelf-stable, or put them in the refrigerator and use them within one week.  I consulted this great canning blog, Food in Jars, for processing methods and tips. Basically, I filled sterilized 1/2 pint canning jars and cleaned the tops and the sides thoroughly before applying the lids tightly.  Place the jars in a pot of water and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove the jars and place on a kitchen towel on the counter and allow them to cool.  Once they have cooled, push the top of the lid with your finger.  If it is solid and doesn’t pop, they have successfully sealed.  If not, you can either reprocess them, or simply put them in the refrigerator and use within one week.  Makes 1 1/2 pints.

Jam and Ricotta Cheese on Toast

Homemade Granola

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While preparing for a little hiking adventure, I had a fleeting thought to stop at the grocery store and pick up some trail mix.  While I was shopping, a little lightbulb went off in my head and I realized that there was no need to purchase trail mix when I had everything in my pantry to make it myself.  Then I decided to take it a step further and made some homemade granola.
I have slightly adapted this recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen.  I did have to purchase one item that I didn’t have, shredded coconut, but everything else was in the pantry. Turns out the hardest thing about making homemade granola is the part where you need to leave it undisturbed to cool for one whole hour!  
Since I plan on eating this granola as a snack and not breakfast cereal, I used whole almonds instead of sliced almonds.
4 cups rolled oats
2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole almonds
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the oats, coconut, nuts and cranberries together in a large mixing bowl.
In a saucepan, heat the vegetable oil, honey, vanilla extract and sea salt for 2 to 3 minutes and whisk the  ingredients together well.  Pour over the oat and nut mixture and stir well to coat.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the mixture evenly. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then stir.  Bake for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, checking during the final 2 minutes to make sure the coconut does not burn.  Remove the pan from the oven and place entire pan on a cooling rack.
Now here’s the hard part:  let it cool completely for one hour!  The mixture solidifies as it cools, but before then, it’s a yummy, gooey mass that’s just begging to be eaten!  Try to resist!  After the granola has fully cooled, break into chunks and store in a plastic zipper bag or plastic container.

What to do with all those squash blossoms!

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I’ve told you a little about my adventures with growing squash in my garden.  The first and last legitimate zucchini was grown and eaten two weeks ago and there hasn’t been another one since.  Yes, it does bother me a bit that a vegetable that is purportedly so easy to grow that a toddler could grow it has eluded me, but no matter; because this girl learns to make lemonade out of lemons! Even though I have no more mature squash to eat, I happen to have a good amount of squash blossoms on the plants that I’ve been harvesting early in the mornings and finding things to make with them.  The blossoms themselves taste like a mild version of the squash.  I stuffed these blossoms with a ricotta cheese and herb mixture and pan fried them.  They make a delicious and delicate appetizer and they are very simple to make!
As I mentioned, the squash blossoms should be harvested first thing in the morning when they open.  The male blossom is on a long, thin stem, and as long as there are no female blossoms open that need to be fertilized, the male flowers are pretty much for show (and for eating)! Snip the blossoms, then take your scissors and carefully snip and remove the stamen (the protrusion in the flower that is covered in pollen) and place them in a bowl of cold water.  These flowers can be stored in the refrigerator for two days in the bowl of water.  When you are ready to make them, rinse them and remove the stems.

Let the blossoms sit while you make the filling:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 garlic clove, minced finely or pressed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl.  Carefully stuff the blossoms using a teaspoon and your finger.  Pinch the tops of the blossoms to close them.  Heat about 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat.

Beat one egg in a small bowl and put about 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour on a saucer.

Dip the blossoms in the beaten egg and then lightly flour.  Place each blossom in the hot skillet.  Fry for one to two minutes per side. Place on a paper towel to drain.

Here’s another fun thing we made with the squash blossoms: pizza!  I’m pretty proud of this pizza because all of the vegetables on it, with the exception of garlic, came from our little garden! For this white pizza, I used sliced green zebra tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, squash blossoms, garlic, parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese!  Delicious!